PAX Tech APEX/AIX 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019 | www.pax-intl.com

MRO, Interiors & IFEC

All eyes ahead BONU

S

Trolle : cover y The changing IFE landscape age

APEX/AIX ANGELES SEATING, IFE &LOS CONNECTIVITY

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EDITOR’S LETTER

PAX Tech 26 Pearl Street, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 1X2, Canada Tel: (1 905) 821-3344 Fax: (1 905) 821-2777 Website: www.pax-intl.com

PUBLISHER Aijaz Khan E-mail: aijaz@globalmarketingcom.ca

EDITORIAL OFFICES Rick Lundstrom, Editor-in-Chief PAX Tech 723 Jefferson Street, NE Minneapolis, MN 55413, USA Tel: (1 612) 378-0862 Fax: (1 612) 378-0852 E-mail: rick@pax-intl.com Rachel Debling, Managing Editor Tel: (1 905) 821-3344 x21 E-mail: rachel@pax-intl.com Ash Khan, Social Media Coordinator Tel: (1 905) 821-3344 x30 E-mail: ash@pax-intl.com CONTRIBUTORS Juraj Siska Mary Jane Pittilla

A R T D E PA R T M E N T Jessica Hearn, Art Director E-mail: jessica@globalmarketingcom.ca

ADVERTISING OFFICES Kevin Greene, Advertising and Marketing Manager Tel: (1 905) 821-3344 x31 E-mail: kevin@pax-intl.com PAX International and PAX Tech are published a total of 10 times a year (January/February, March/April, May, June, July, September, October, December)

by PAX International, 26 Pearl Street, Mississauga,

Power to the people

A

s we worked up stories and content for this year’s APEX/AIX issue, the subject of ancillary revenue through a heretofore-unconsidered source came up as a possibility, namely whether passengers would consider paying to charge their electronic devices.

Throughout their travel experience, passengers rely heavily (whether justified or not) on the use of personal electronic devices. They hold in their hand valuable information that could cause serious delays and problems if lost during the time they are on the move.

Sure enough, there is a term for it: nomophobia, an abbreviation for “no-mobile-phone-phobia.” Though not officially recognized as a psychological disorder, most can probably say they know someone who exhibits its symptoms when separated from their mobile phone for any length of time.

And it is in this fear that airlines are recognizing a new potential for revenue.

Over the years, airlines have successfully convinced passengers to pay for things they used to get for free. Fees for checked baggage, for instance, have become so common that it’s hard to find an airline that hasn’t

adopted the practice. The downside to this additional revenue is seen in the amount of carry-on luggage that now fills every flight. Once from my seat in the very back of a full 757, I ran a timer to see how long it would take me to deplane. It took 15 minutes.

But getting back to the original topic, we may soon see if passengers are willing to part with a small fee to charge their devices. KID-Systeme and IFPL, two companies featured in this issue, both have products designed to accept pay for power.

Passengers have been paying indirectly for in-seat power for years. At first, charging stations were mainly confined to front cabins and accessed by those paying higher fares. Now, as airlines see that passengers have become more dependent on charged devices, they’re much more common in Economy Class.

Sooner or later, a few LCCs will find a clever way to increase revenue by taking the bait, and then we’ll see whether the bundled fare structure that has become commonplace will take on another layer, its origin from an attempt to ease one of the stresses of our technology-addicted world.

Ontario L5M 1X2, Canada. International Distribution.

Subscriptions: $200 for one year; $300 for two years; $400 for three years. Art and photographs will not be returned unless accompanied by return postage. The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher or editor. July 2019.

All rights reserved. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. © PAX International magazine

ISSN 1206-5714 Key title: Pax International

Rick Lundstrom Editor-in-Chief PAX International

www.pax-intl.com | PAX TECH | 3

CONTENTS

Features GUEST COLUMN 12 BUILDING MODERN IFE SYSTEMS

Idea Nova CEO Juraj Siska takes us through the technical challenges that airlines and IFE providers face as they seek to duplicate an on-the-ground experience for millions of entertainment-starved passengers

SEATING 22 CHANGING WITH THE TIMES

The transition from leatherwear to leather seats has been a journey 126 years in the making for Perrone Aerospace, a company that has navigated the changing aviation landscape deftly and with passion that is apparent to those who work with them

24

UNIFORMS 24 PUTTING THE “FUN” IN “FUNCTIONAL”

SKYPRO prides itself on creating uniforms and footwear that not only keep airline crew members en vogue but also safe from onboard safety hazards

IFEC 16 INFLIGHT PUBLICATIONS, À LA CARTE

As airlines search for ways to meet their customers’ sustainability requests while providing the variety of content they demand, digital platform developer PressReader is moving ahead on its global expansion plans with several international partnerships

18 MEDIA MAKERS

Suppliers of digital press material like newspapers and magazines deal with many of the same challenges as other media, and France-based Adaptive has developed two solutions that address airline concerns

SEPTEMBER 2019 | www.pax-intl.com

MRO, Interiors & IFEC

ON THE COVER:

The Delta Studio IFE system now contains top entertainment from Hulu. See page 10.

All eyes ahead BONU

S:

Trolley

covera The changing IFE landscape ge

APEX/AIX ANGELES SEATING, IFE &LOS CONNECTIVITY

Efforts by prominent players to streamline the supply chain for inflight entertainment to make it to the cabin are taking shape during this year and next

30 THE RACE FOR INFLIGHT WIFI

World leaders in satellite communication are looking to provide airline passengers with the seamless connectivity they enjoy at home. Several important developments toward that end took place this summer

IN-SEAT POWER 34 POWER AT HAND

Consumer demand (and anxiety) is dictating a future where power in the seat will be available to millions more passengers in one form or another – and it could become a revenue source

ANCILLARY REVENUE 40 MONETIZING THE PASSENGER EXPERIENCE

DEPARTMENTS

The billions that airlines earn each year through ancillary revenue has led to some ingenious ways to construct and maintain a steady flow of income through a la carte offerings

3

EDITOR’S NOTE

EVENT COVERAGE

6

NEWS

42 LOOKING TO LA

46

FACT & FIGURES

4 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

The team at Reed Exhibition provided PAX with a peek at what the 2019 edition of their AIX North America show holds

COVER IMAGE COURTESY DELTA AIR LINES

34

28 CLOUD SEEDING

NEWS

AIRLINE

Singapore Airlines rolling out new app Singapore Airlines this past summer launched its new mobile app for Android and iOS smartphones.

“The new app is designed for faster performance and improved usability, and introduces new features that offer passengers a seamless and more personalized experience,” said a release from the airline. “Based on a ground-up rebuild and all-new underlying technical architecture, the new app delivers customers significantly enhanced booking and check-in flows, improving transaction time by up to 60%.”

For Android users, the new app is being released by country between July and September, while iOS users may download the new app from the App Store in September.

The beta version will continue to be available for download in the meantime.

New features include: • “Capture and Discover,” a new search function that uses image recognition as well as speech and natural language processing to identify the user intent, match it to a Singapore Airlines destination and present relevant destination content and fare deals.

• “Translation Assistant,” a feature that uses real-time language translation by voice to help travelers communicate better when they are overseas.

• “Measure Your Baggage” which helps travelers determine if the size of their bag is within cabin baggage limitations.

Real-time information such as boarding gate details, the destination’s weather and currency, and baggage carousel information are added to the “My Trips” function.

Users can access e-Library magazines and newspaper content based on their KrisFlyer membership tier, as well as a new search and filter function to allow for easier content browsing in the e-Library and KrisWorld catalog. The app continues to enable passengers to bookmark their movies so that they can pick up where they left off on subsequent flights with the newest inflight entertainment systems. There is also a KrisFlyer account dashboard and the introduction of an inbox feature, which stores push notifications as well as KrisFlyer messages for easy reference.

In addition to several new updates, the Singapore Airlines app allows users to manage their viewing on the airline’s KrisWorld inflight entertainment system

SUPPLIER

China Southern to add lie-flat beds on 787-9s China Southern has selected AIM Altitude to provide front row monuments (FRMs) for its 787-9 fleet.

Thompson Aero Seating worked closely with AIM Altitude on the project, as well as design house factorydesign.

The monuments were made with standard composite panel and laminate finishes to complement the seating

6 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

The monuments allow space for the lie-flat bed to extend, and the IFE monitor and literature pocket surrounds were created to match the design and color scheme of the seats.

AIM Altitude also manufactured full-height closets for the aircraft, complete with coat rails and door-activated lights.

Colin Winterburn, Engineering Lead at AIM Altitude, commented in a statement from the company: “There were many complex challenges in making the whole scheme succeed with a unified and continuous flow. For example, integrated closets with overhead bin-ends close out in the tapered section of the fuselage and needed to align with the Boeing-installed structure.”

Shaun Hogarty, Project Manager for AIM Altitude, also noted: “Our relationship with Thompson allows our two companies to work with meticulous coordination to ensure that the finished product is equally seamless.”

NEWS

AIRLINE

New uniform designs flying on Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines’ new uniforms were designed by Ettore Bilotta

In celebration of its 85th anniversary, Turkish Airlines redesigned its cabin crew uniforms. This change brought the cabin, cockpit, ground handling personnel and flying chef uniforms together under a single design to provide passengers with a more unified brand experience.

Italian haute couturier Ettore Bilotta designed the cabin uniforms, which were specially sewn by Vakko. The main fabrics were produced by Altınyıldız, based on the compliance of Turkish Airlines with flight standards. Garments were tested on long-range flights in different climates and were tailored to each cabin employee to ensure comfort while serving passengers.

In a release statement, M. İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines, said; “I believe that our brand’s presence in the skies will be much more impressive when the new cabin uniforms, which bear elements of our culture, are combined with the elegance of our cabin crews.”

The new cabin uniforms (in flag-red and anthracite gray colors) were inspired by the many classical details in Turkish culture, from the currents of the Bosphorus to the artisanal glassware, ceramics and calligraphy patterns produced by local artisans.

8 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

CONNECTIVITY

Griffin joins executives at OneWeb OneWeb has appointed Ben Griffin as its Vice President for Commercial Aviation, leading its newly formed Commercial Aviation team.

In his new role, based at OneWeb’s White City, London headquarters, he will be responsible for delivering inflight connectivity solutions, harnessing the power of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites with speed and low latency, to the airline fraternity.

He brings more than 20 years’ aviation experience to OneWeb, the last 15 of which were spent in the aircraft connectivity sector, most recently with Inmarsat for eight years.

“I am delighted to have joined a company with so much potential,” said Griffin. “The OneWeb offering is by a long way simply the best technology, best suited to the aviation market. It stands to significantly change the landscape of passenger connectivity with its ability to deliver consistently strong Internet coverage across the world in a way that is often promised, but rarely delivered.”

OneWeb is building a global communications network with what the company says is an initial constellation of 650 satellites in LEO, scaling up to 1,980 satellites that will be 1,200 km from Earth. With a successful launch of its first satellites in February 2019 and recent high-speed video streaming during its system tests, OneWeb is on track to begin monthly launches starting in December 2019 as it prepares for partial service in 2020 and global commercial service in 2021.

OneWeb will be attending APEX EXPO in Los Angeles, California, from September 9 to 12.

Ben Griffin

NEWS

AIRLINE

Delta adds Hulu content to IFE Delta Air Lines’ inflight entertainment line-up now offers passengers more media options as Hulu Originals titles join the carrier’s selection of 3,000 movies, TV shows and music already available on on its Delta Studio system.

Beginning in August, titles such as The Handmaid’s Tale and Fyre Fraud are available to Delta passengers, including those on its 700th aircraft now equipped with seatback screens, free of charge.

Ekrem Dimbiloglu, Director – Onboard Product and Customer Experience, said in a statement from Delta: “Customers continue to tell us entertainment is a top priority. That’s why we keep extending our lead in having more aircraft with seatback entertainment than any other airline in the world, and continue partnering with entertainment giants like Hulu to bring customers at-home favorites at 30,000 feet. These investments reinforce Delta’s reputation as the entertainment airline.”

The full list of Hulu titles available on Delta include: The Handmaid’s Tale (Drama; Season 1, Episodes 1-3) The Mindy Project (Comedy; Season 4, Episodes 1-6) Marvel’s Runaways (Action, Sci-Fi; Season 1, Episodes 1-3) Castle Rock (Drama, Horror; Season 1, Episodes 1-3) Casual (Comedy; Season 1, Episodes 1-4) Light As A Feather (Thriller; Season 1, Episodes 1-3) The Act (Crime, Drama; Season 1, Episodes 1-3) Shrill (Comedy; Season 1, Episodes 1-3) Batman and Bill (Documentary film) Fyre Fraud (Documentary film) Ask Dr. Ruth (Documentary film) Minding the Gap (Documentary film) Into the Dark: New Year, New You (Horror film)

More than a dozen Hulu Original programs join the 3,000 movies and TV shows on Delta

COMPANY

Aircraft Cabin Systems acquired by Latécoère In July, Latécoère announced they are moving to acquire the monitor business of Aircraft Cabin Systems (ACS).

Created in 1999, ACS is a major monitor supplier for the aeronautics sector. The group holds more than 100 certifications on products dedicated to inflight entertainment, and its monitors, ranging from six to 80 inches, are tailor-made and include high-tech features such as HD, 4K and various types of connectivity. They are produced in small series for a wide number of aircraft, including business jets as well as Airbus and Boeing programs.

This transaction allows Latécoère’s Interconnection Systems division to expand its existing range of video

10 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

systems with high-quality products and to offer its customers the systems’ entire value chain, from the camera to the passenger or cockpit screen.

Yannick Assouad, Latécoère CEO, said in a statement: “This transaction allows us to complete our product range in the aircraft cabin sector, while strengthening our footprint in the United States, as close as possible to our customers. We also intend to expand our business jet market share by offering a tailor-made global solution to our most demanding customers.”

The transaction, subject to customary approvals, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019.

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GUEST COLUMN

Building modern

IFE systems

IdeaNova CEO Juraj Siska takes us through the technical challenges airlines and IFE providers face as they seek to duplicate an on-the-ground experience for millions of entertainment-starved passengers

P

assengers want to be entertained. Now more than ever, they bring their own devices and explore seatback displays with the expectation of having the same experience as the one they have on the ground. With better displays, more content and high demand for quality, the complexity of delivering to customer expectations grows.

Unknown to most passengers, being entertained at 30,000 feet is much more difficult than clicking the Netflix button on their tablets at home. I’ll walk through some of the complexities that are well known to the providers of IFE who are pushed to extend their legacy systems to deliver high-definition (HD) content. New vendors are building platforms to stream live or high dynamic range (HDR) quality media with early window distribution rights. Maturing standards and the demand for interoperability in the media space provide an opportunity to simplify media management for IFEs, make best use of available storage and maximize content quality with their

12 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

“

existing legacy systems. We now have more choices, and therefore careful decision-making is necessary when building or updating your existing IFE.

Content quality and security Passengers and airlines around the world are now demanding HD or even higher quality content. IFE providers are working hard to meet these demands. As the screen size and quality improve, passengers can distinguish between standard definition (SD) content and higher quality content in the form of HD or even higher 4K (a.k.a UHD) or HDR quality.

Airlines are likely to service this content to at least their premium class passengers on built-in seatback screens or delivered to passengers’ devices via existing, in-cabin Wi-Fi networks. From the technical perspective, this has traditionally raised two issues: performance and security.

For example, delivering HD content will require two to five times more bandwidth than SD, and delivering 4K or UHD will increase this bandwidth

It’s always good to plan for the future.

Think in terms of higher quality content and what storage and security requirements you have to satisfy in your new hardware.”

- JURAJ SISKA, CEO IDEANOVA demand three to four times more.

HD content requires more space and will therefore create more demand for storage on already space-constrained IFE systems designed a decade ago. Storage is not the only design concern. Large files require more time to upload and manage, which is affecting aircraft downtime. Large files are taxing the network systems not only during the upload, but also during the content streaming phase, imposing new requirements on in-cabin wired or wireless networks.

Security creates two interesting challenges: HD and higher-quality content requires protection of license servers that, according to the recent APEX 0415 specification, leverages hardware components for encryption and other complex rules for ensuring content security credentials cannot be compromised and illegally acquired.

Many of these components were not built into IFE systems used on aircraft.

For example, the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) or Secure Execution Environment (SEE) have been only recently introduced to Intel central

GUEST COLUMN

processing units (CPUs) used by IFE suppliers, and there is no real deployment of similar hardware configuration on the Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) platform. Furthermore, upgrading existing IFE servers is a complex task that requires aviation authorities’ certification, aircraft manufacturer recertification, and many months of preparation and engineering work.

Portable IFE systems have grown in popularity as they provide rapid deployment of IFE features, exercising exceptions to some of the Federal Aviation Administration requirements imposed on built-in IFE equipment.

The new APEX specification 0415 has been amended mainly based on input from studios to ensure the portable devices meet the standards of security more than any other components of the IFE landscape.

Delivering premium content will become increasingly hard, and IFE vendors will have to carefully evaluate their choice of platform, processors and overall design to continue supplying IFE functionality with features, or relegate their support to standarddefinition, non-premium content.

Storage requirements are further challenged by the target platforms that need support. In the wide range of available seatback and personal devices, the storage needs to account for several encoding specifications and at least two flavors of encryption. The encoding specs range from 500 kbps to several megabits per second and are based on the desired quality and available network bandwidth in the cabin. The desire to support passenger devices with encrypted content might also result in the storing of multiple file formats of the same movie. While the industry is converging on CBC-S DRM encryption, some legacy devices that predate Android 7.1 support only CTR encryp14 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

tion. Since the best practice is to encrypt video and audio tracks, storage requirements increase beyond the duplication of video track to the size increase attributed to all supported audio files. While the audio files are in general smaller than the video files, adding a handful or more audio files together adds up to the size of a single SD video track.

Not all video has to be DRM encrypted, yet non-DRM content delivery can be complex as well. If it becomes only an afterthought for many airlines and IFE providers, the processing, storage and overall customer experience suffers from fragmented implementation that looks and feels different than the delivery of their premium content that requires encryption. This does not have to be so, as standardization of the file format for playback across multiple devices is possible, so it’s possible to reuse or subtitle files and in some cases audio tracks. A successful IFE system, when planned and designed properly, should leverage the same assets as much as possible for seamless user experience and optimal resource utilization.

Encoding and watermarking

Over the years, our industry has seen many encoding algorithms that help us to stream and deliver content more efficiently. These range from efficient H.264 and even more efficient H.265 codecs to newer standards such as AV1 that appear to be less riddled with legal licensing loopholes. In general, the newer the encoding algorithm, the less likely it is that either hardware or software (OS or browser) will support it ubiquitously

on many platforms. Airlines and IFE providers have more leverage with integrating decoders when designing and building seatback systems. Unfortunately, support for personal device entertainment is limited to the support of encoders built into the mobile devices by the manufacturers. Although H.265 has now been widely adopted by Apple on devices newer than iPhone 7, the rest of the platforms, especially in-browser playback, are catching up and might not always provide unanimous support for H.265. If IFE providers are building systems that rely on software decoding, they must account for performance and associated power demands (hence in-seat power plugs might be necessary).

The industry is finally moving away from visible watermarking, as this technology did not provide a lot of protection and impacted artistic value of the streaming content. Forensic watermarking plays a bigger role that must be accounted for when preparing content for aircraft distribution as the payload, protection of forensic identifier and overall integration depends on the type of content and device. In general, the higher the content quality and the less control the airline has about the display, the more complex is the payload and its protection. Integration of forensic watermarking with DRM, especially if dynamic session is required (flight or device information), can increase or double the size of the content.

Looking ahead

It’s always good to plan for the future.

Think in terms of higher quality content and what storage and security requirements you have to satisfy in your new hardware. While you might not always accomplish single-file distribution across the many devices your IFE needs to support, careful planning and considering all design options will almost always provide better results and more efficient operations.

The media-streaming field is advancing rapidly, and changes in standards and adaptation of new technologies by device and software manufacturers are constant.

Juraj Siska is an IT professional with a fruitful history of building secure IT systems. After a successful IT consulting career, he started IdeaNova Technologies, which provides IFE products and services to avionics customers worldwide. Siska has led IdeaNova for over a decade of bringing innovation and professionalism to its clients. He graduated from Iowa State with a PhD and is the company’s CEO, overseeing business and technical implementation of the next generation of IFE systems. Visit ideanovatech.com for more.

IFEC

Inflight publications,

à la carte

by RACHEL DEBLING

Publications from more than 120 countries are represented on the app

As airlines search for ways to meet their customers’ sustainability requests while providing the variety of content they demand, digital platform developer PressReader is moving ahead on its global expansion plans with several international partnerships

W

ith a library representing the cultures and preferred content of more than 120 countries, PressReader is determined to carve out a niche for itself on board in the rapidly growing digital publication sector.

In the first quarter of 2019, the company made big strides toward this goal when it announced a partnership with Turkish Airlines in which the carrier’s passengers and guests of its lounges are provided access to its databank of content for 48 hours, a huge boon for the Richmond, British Columbia-based

16 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

Passengers on Turkish Airlines are offered access to PressReader’s library free of charge for the 48 hours surrounding their flight

PressReader adds nearly 100 new publication titles to its app every month

business. (It also counts Dublin as headquarters for its international offices.)

“There’s been a real shift in the way both consumers and the industry think about news and magazine content,” said Alex Kroogman, Chief Executive Officer of PressReader, in a March statement announcing the Turkish partnership. “Now, it’s part of the travel experience. For us, that means we are always thinking first about the reader – or the passenger. We want to create an experience that truly connects them to the rest of the world.”

The company’s team keeps its ear to the ground for exciting and new content, adding approximately 100 new publication titles to its platform every month. As Nikolay Malyarov, PressReader’s EVP and Chief Content Officer, explained to PAX in June, global coverage is of the utmost importance to the burgeoning company, as it wants to represent all travelers, no matter their interests or where they hail from. “We want to ensure [passengers] can access content from their home country or home town, in their native language,” he said, adding that if passengers happen to access something outside of these parameters, the PressReader system can help them understand what they’re reading through its translation services.

When comparing its service to its competitors, the PressReader team offers ample evidence that they say lends to its

credibility and, ultimately, superiority.

For starters, PressReader cuts through the “crowded and confusing” digital publication and distribution landscape thanks to its variety of mediums, encompassing both magazines and newspapers.

(Most other digital platforms, including the Apple-owned Texture, offer only magazines, which PressReader points out not only limits the quantity of content available but is also a much easier process than keeping up with robust daily editions, as PressReader must do.) Much more than a simple PDF version of a print publication, the PressReader app offers flexibility for publishers and ease-of-use for the end user (i.e. airline passengers) with the ability for the reader to select how their content is displayed to them, no matter the original form of the publication.

When it comes to the user experience, the technology the company employs to bring these publications to life in a digital format has been 20 years in the making. Innovation, its team says, is the foundation of the company.

“Interactivity and versatility are just some of the attributes that distinguish our product from others,” Malyarov explained. “From multiple viewing options (graphical, print replica and text flow that’s specifically optimized to different mobile platforms) to our text-to-speech audio feature, to on-thefly translation into up to 18 languages,

to sharing, commenting, bookmarking and more, we’ve always focused on what readers will not just appreciate but will, in fact, expect from a premium product.”

PressReader’s sponsored access model also sets it apart from other applications.

While users can purchase monthly subscriptions or opt for a pay-as-you-go purchase, PressReader partners with thousands of hotels, airlines (like Turkish), cruise ships, libraries and other businesses that pay for their customers and employees to have access to the platform’s wealth of information. “It’s a win-win-win for readers, brands and publishers,” Malyarov stressed.

Its model also provides a more stable and profitable outlet for publishers, as it offers both paid and free content.

“If the publisher is looking to generate extra revenue in addition to reaching new audiences, in both single-copy sales and our all-you-can-read (flat-rate) subscription models we work on either a per-copy royalty, a license fee or a combination of both,” Malyarov said.

“We’re quite flexible, as long as it works for both parties.” This approach, as opposed to the sometimes employed “time spent” model, ensures that it’s not just the biggest publishers that get paid. PressReader also welcomes publishers who provide their content on the platform free of charge as a way of improving their reach, which is especially attractive to publications that undergo annual circulation audits.

In the inflight arena, sky-bound PressReader clients include Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Iberia, Air Canada and Virgin Australia, among others, and the company is eager to expand further.

To that end, its team partnered with APEX a few years ago for a survey that queried airline executives on what their passenger entertainment strategy looked like, and how they planned on implementing it. The responses at the time, said Malyarov, were quite conservative.

“Passengers, like you and I, are accelerating this process with our changing needs and habits,” he noted. “Airlines are looking to remove extra weight off the aircraft to save fuel and, absolutely, help the environment. Some have removed and more will choose not to install in-seat IFE systems to reduce weight as well. Faster, cheaper and more userfriendly technology coupled with the above changes are all contributing to the shift in the industry.” And that’s exactly where PressReader hopes to come in. www.pax-intl.com | PAX TECH | 17

IFEC

Media

makers

Suppliers of digital press material like newspapers and magazines deal with many of the same challenges as other media, and France-based Adaptive has developed two solutions that address airline concerns

by RICK LUNDSTROM

A

MOST READ PUBLICATIONS ON ADAPTIVE’S SYSTEMS The New York Times Newsweek Financial Times Top Gear Die Welt Le Figaro

Personal electronic devices give passengers the option of viewing publications before and during flights

18 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

s airlines move fast to make inflight entertainment and connectivity options more plentiful and easily accessible to their passengers, the inevitable bottlenecks in delivering this streaming content have occurred, oftentimes leaving the user holding a personal electronic device and waiting for their selected item to load.

The providers of digital press content share those challenges with providers of video and audio. When a cabin is filled with passengers working their PEDs, even an innocuous, gray newspaper article can end up in the queue and may not load immediately.

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IFEC

“

We do not know of any other company that is able to deliver that industrial power to screen thousands of newspapers and magazines every day.”

– LAURENT SAFAR, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF ADAPTIVE

reduces the amount of bandwidth required for accessing reading material, saving the airline money and the user time.

To accomplish both those tasks in the highly complex cabin environment, Adaptive developed the Stream Reader. The proprietary file format adds a step in the acquisition process of a story from a digital publication, splitting the digital content into multiple tiles as opposed to full images. With that process, the bandwidth required to access the content is limited.

“Usually when you stream content for a newspaper or a magazine there is a [time] lag associated to that because every time you look for the information you do not have it locally stored,” says Laurent Safar, co-founder and CEO of Adaptive. “We have used a variety of techniques to change that and have a normal instantaneous display of the content.”

With Stream Reader, Adaptive has added a number of features such as, in addition to traditional scrolling, the ability to “pinch” content with fingers to zoom. A mode developed within Stream Reader gives passengers the opportunity to personalize the app’s appearance, which is especially helpful for readers with special visual needs. Written content can be adjusted to change font size, line spacing and contrast. The content can also be integrated into an airline’s IFE system in multiple ways, regardless of the technology’s architecture, and can be adapted to the airline’s onboard app, if so desired.

Adaptive sees Steam Reader as an ideal solution for airlines that offer wireless IFE streaming to passengers’ personal electronic devices. Adaptive recently supplied the platform for the French Business Class-only airline La Compagnie for use on its A321neo flights to the United States.

Monitoring marginal content

Adaptive has a portfolio of thousands of publications delivered through the company’s Stream Reader system

That lag time between selecting and accessing digital content from thousands of available publications has led Toulouse-based Adaptive to develop a faster and more efficient follow-on to its ACES digital press product selected by many airlines. At April’s Aircraft Interiors Expo, the company showed potential customers a new web-based reader that

20 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

As Stream Reader allows access to a portfolio of thousands of mainstream media publications from the around the world, airlines may be concerned about nudity or other images of a sensitive nature showing up on their passengers’ devices.

Adaptive has proactively responded to this potential demand by developing an automated content moderation tool that scans digital images for nudity and rates each image with a percentage score. The tool can then be used to automatically or manually replace all the images above a certain percentage score, determined by the customer. Images that are removed would be replaced with a message agreed upon by the airline customer. Users can view the questionable images, if they so choose, on a dashboard-style screen that can be monitored by the airline or by someone from Adaptive.

Safar is sure the new feature is a first of its kind in the industry. “We do not know of any other company that is able to deliver that industrial power to screen thousands of newspapers and magazines every day, every week and every month and provide such a level of consistency,” he says.

While still seeking a launch customer, he said airlines in the Middle East, Asia and Europe have expressed interest.

Adaptive has broad customer base of airlines that initially selected its ACES mobile reader solution. Among the customers are Singapore Airlines, SAS, Qatar Airways and TAP Air Portugal. The company has also found customers in airport lounges across Europe and in other transportation providers.

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SEATING

Changing

with the times The transition from leatherwear to leather seats has been a journey 126 years in the making for Perrone Aerospace, a company that has navigated the changing aviation landscape deftly and with a passion that is apparent to those who work with them

by RACHEL DEBLING

Leather being cleaned by a Perrone team member at its repair station

22 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

F

Featherweight Commercial Leather remains a popular product in Perrone’s portfolio

ounded more than 100 years ago in Gloversville, New York as the Perrone Glove company (later shifting to Perrone Leather when it transitioned to pilot and crew uniforms), Perrone Aerospace has grown in size and scope alongside the industry in which it has found its niche.

“Right around the time Perrone Leather was formed, airlines were making the switch from fabric seats to all leather covers throughout the aircraft,” explains Marc Cognetti, the company’s Director of Marketing. But this was only part of the reason the company set its sights on the aviation industry. In 1900, only seven years after the founding of its namesake glove business, Perrone found a new neighbor in the Karg Brothers Tannery, the area’s largest tannery at the time, which set up shop just a few doors away from Perrone’s original operations.

Bill Perrone Sr. and Jr. partnered with Bart Avery of Karg Brothers to form Perrone Aviation Leather, which eventually became Perrone Aerospace, and a century later the company has quadrupled its original 25,000-square-foot footprint and now counts 100 full-time employees among its ranks.

As Cognetti explains, the transition from gloves and aviation uniforms to aviation upholstery was natural. “With the Perrone’s history and sales experience in the airline business, and Bart Avery on board specializing in tanning and leather finishing, they had every aspect of the business covered,” he says. “Perrone Aerospace has history, and people trust that.

In moving from gloves to apparel to aviation upholstery, the quality has never deteriorated.” That initial step, he notes,

Perrone joined forces with Bart Avery, grandson of one of the owners of the Karg Brothers Tannery, seen here in the early 20th century

allowed Perrone to push into the corporate and general aviation sector with ease and provided room to showcase just what their leather and textiles could offer the interior of any aircraft.

One of these materials is Featherweight Commercial Leather, a product unique to Perrone. As one of the first innovations to be brought to market after the business was formed, it offers commercial and corporate carriers a lighter option and is made to perform with strength and stamina.

And, since weight is a large factor to consider when designing any product for an aircraft, it was an immediate success.

As Cognetti notes: “At the time [when it was first developed], the Perrone Featherweight Leather line addressed this issue in a way that had not been done before. The uniqueness of this product lies in its look, feel and durability. To the untrained eye, you cannot tell the difference between Featherweight and standard leather, but the costs add up tremendously when it comes to weight savings.” The product, he says, is two-thirds of the weight of traditional leather, without compromising performance and durability, and he points to the success story of the first airline customer to take the solution on board as proof: its US$10 million investment, or about 90,000 seats, translated to a return of US$14 million per year. “At that time, this type of saving was unheard of,” he enthuses.

Perrone is also expanding into a new market where it hopes to find great success: railways. Through its Perrone Railway division, the company is broadening its focus back to earth with a new team of specialists and a line of products developed specifically for this vast market. “In the next 10 years, I see the rail market expanding dramatically, and I see Perrone Railway expanding with it,” Cognetti predicts.

In the end, Cognetti says whether speaking of aircraft or railcars, upholstery plays an important role in the perceived value a passenger places on their experience – it is, after all, what they interact with the most throughout their journey. And Perrone’s team of trained professionals will bring the personal touch to every project they take on, no matter how big or small.

“When a customer calls our office, they deal with a customer service representative specifically assigned to their account,” Cognetti says. “Everything is handled on a personal level and we pride ourselves on that. We consider ourselves to be a boutique business with each solution customized to the customer. We make each sample on request, per the customer’s specifications. Our team will match color swatches to a customer’s photograph, sample or color code until we are sure it is perfect.” With that attention to detail, Perrone Aerospace guarantees it will deliver just what its clients need – and in turn what their customers’ customers will compliment and remember long after they arrive at their destination.

GETTING GREENER In his own words, Marc Cognetti shares some insights into Perrone’s passion for sustainability “About 10 years ago when we expanded our facility, we were able to expand the capacity of our FAA repair station, gaining VIV130X status and EASA 145.5966 status. In doing so, we became one of the nation’s largest cleaner, repairer, and refinisher of FAA burn-certified aircraft upholstery leather.

“Climate change is a global issue right now.

It is certainly not a new topic, but it has become increasingly critical in the aviation industry.

There is a learning curve for those of us who are relatively new to the conversation. We are making progress and will continue to do our part, but we don’t expect to solve the problem overnight. We have made strides in eco-friendly products, production and manufacturing. Commercial airlines are continuing to try to reduce weight, both our Featherweight Genuine Leather and EnduraLite synthetic product lines have addressed that.

“One piece of our business that I think is important to keep in mind is the value we place on the life cycle of the leather once it leaves our hands.

We are responsible for the care of our leather from the time it comes in as a hide, throughout the life of the finished dress cover. Not only do we manufacture the leather for airline seats here, but we repair and clean seats here as well, keeping thousands of seats out of landfills each year.”

www.pax-intl.com | PAX TECH | 23

UNIFORMS

Putting the “fun” in “functional” “We are sure we will be the Nike of aviation world,” Jorge Pinto, SKYPRO’s CEO, told PAX Tech

SKYPRO prides itself on creating uniforms and footwear that not only keep airline crew members en vogue but also safe from common onboard safety hazards

SKYPRO has an airline customer base of more than 50 carriers, including Qatar Airways, Emirates, FlyEgypt, Austrian Airlines and TAP Air Portugal

by RACHEL DEBLING

D

esigned to represent an airline and uphold their corporate branding, cabin crew uniforms often fall under the unfortunate “utilitarian” category – comfortable and easy to wear, but not always on the cutting edge.

Many airlines are attempting to change this reputation by partnering with high-end brands and fashion designers for their revamped cabin crew collections – Japan Airlines, for one, recently worked with Yasutoshi Ezumi, a renowned name in Japanese fashion, to breathe new life into its onboard, support staff and ground uniforms.

But when it comes to footwear, it’s a bit more difficult – the sky-high stilettos seen on the runway are too garish and, to be frank, dangerous and impractical for onboard wear, while flashy or casual sneakers take away from

24 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

the professional atmosphere a carrier wishes to impart. Between those two extremes is where SKYPRO, a footwear and uniform company that caters to the inflight industry, proudly finds itself.

For years, the company has developed uniforms and shoes for airlines, cruise lines, casinos and even police forces, catering to customers’ specific needs, based on their industry and the certifications they therefore must adhere to.

And with an airline customer base of more than 50 carriers, including Qatar Airways, Emirates, FlyEgypt, Austrian Airlines and TAP Air Portugal, and as the only uniform company that is a recognized strategic partner of the International Air Transport Association

(IATA), the SKYPRO team has the track record to deliver projects for carriers of all sizes. In fact, SKYPRO was the first global brand to develop footwear specifically made for aviation professionals, according to Ana Correia, Market Specialist at SKYPRO. “One of our priorities is the safety of our airline professionals,” explains Correia. “This is the reason why we put so much energy and focus on the research of the most advanced technologies. We have also partnered with many research institutes in order to constantly be up to date with tourism and footwear trends.”

Its expertise in this area is one of the reasons that SKYPRO has flourished in recent years. Jorge Pinto, the company’s

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UNIFORMS CEO, reports that over the last year SKYPRO has not only increased its sales by 42% but has also increased its workforce by 20%. And though businessto-business sales, such as those between SKYPRO and the aviation industry, make up the majority of the company’s business, Pinto says that its consumer collections are rapidly expanding, with more than 50 styles currently available via its online retail platform. SKYPRO’s sales have increased greatly alongside the Internet shopping revolution, allowing it to push even further into the global market. After opening a U.S. location in 2016, the company dove into the consumer footwear market, thanks to distribution deals with online giants Zappos, Shoes.com and Amazon.

Generally speaking, Pinto notes it takes about six months from the beginning of the design process until a shoe collection is ready to launch. However, full uniforms, like those seen on the aforementioned airlines, can take twice as long, depending on the scope. Styles and bespoke options are constantly being updated, to keep pace with customer demands and the ever-changing

fashion landscape. The company recently launched black patent as a new color option, for example, and a colorful new line containing on-trend hues such as cream, red, camel and blue ocean has been introduced to the U.S. market.

Pinto explains that this strategy is twofold. “By launching this new collection, we aim to target not only crews, but also [other] customers – the frequent travelers and other, regular workers,” he says. Some of the collections lend well to this crossover effect. For instance, though initially created for consumers, styles in navy and blue ocean have found success on Alaska Airlines, where flight attendants are given the option to wear these colors as part of their uniforms.

With the hard work and passion that each member of the SKYPRO team brings to the table, Pinto said he believes the company is destined to push the limits of what is fashionable in flight. He notes: “We are sure we will be the Nike of aviation world, and we are working to be the global uniforms and footwear leader for aviation professionals.” Watch this space for more on this ambitious company in the future.

SKYPRO has recently entered the consumer footwear market, thanks to distribution deals with online retailers

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SAVE THE DATE

30 MARCH 2 APRIL

2020

WELCOME ONBOARD. Defining the future of the global passenger experience industry. Four leading events, one week, one destination. Delivering content, driving innovation and developing connections to transform your business.

Showcasing the latest cabin interiors, inflight entertainment and connectivity, passenger comfort, catering, retail offerings and software technology to create the ultimate passenger experience.

30 MARCH 2020

passengerexperienceweek.com

4 LEADING EVENTS 1 WEEK - 1 DESTINATION

Organised by:

In co-operation with:

IFEC

Cloud

seeding

by RICK LUNDSTROM

Cloud computing, trialed and discussed for years, aims to create news efficiencies in the IFE supply chain

Efforts by prominent players to streamline the supply chain for inflight entertainment to make it to the cabin are taking shape during this year and next 28 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

W

hen asked to relate the process in which a movie or television product or any other content makes its way from its origin to the seatback of an aircraft, Michael Childers, now a consultant for Lufthansa Systems and Chairman of the APEX Technology Committee, lays out a process in eight to nine specific steps, each simplified for explanation and each containing a number of other steps and requirements.

The process starts when content providers aggregate material and send in a compressed version to post production companies. It is then encoded in multiple files into various versions and submasters and compressed from spectacular theater versions into one that fits an IFE format. As the juggernaut moves along the Byzantine chain on the way to the airline customer, there are additional submaster versions made, language and subtitles are added, quality control checks for the suitability of the

Michael Childers, Consultant for Lufthansa Systems

images, purchase orders are generated, watermarks added and finally the version that the passenger will see can be either delivered by hand to an aircraft for download or electronically supplied.

In between there are emails and PDF documents generated and telephone calls are made. The process creates a supply chain that can take from 45 to 60 days. Such a process, Childers says, generally requires a 30-day exhibition period (whether the content is popular or not) for the costs to be amortized.

“This process, as you can imagine, is slow, cumbersome and expensive.

And it is out of date,” Childers says.

The supply chain for IFE content is something the industry as a whole has been grappling with for several years.

The APEX Technical Committee has for at least five years has been working to bring the industry up to a more efficient method of delivery and handling of inflight entertainment content.

Companies are taking significant steps forward this year and into the next.

In some ways it could not come soon enough. Airlines – especially the ones that count Skytrax Awards – are vocally anxious to be among the first to bring aboard a selection of HDR and 4K content to their seatback screens and their passengers’ personal electronic devices. Data analytics, a subject that Childers and others will take up during a panel discussion at this year’s APEX event, gives airlines the possibility to tap into new passengers’ likes and dislikes and addresses the need to make quick changes in inflight entertainment content.

It may be awhile yet before all the pieces fall into place, and an industry that represents a small segment of the world of entertainment is up to the speed

of the Netflix and Hulus; but it is clear that it is moving in the right direction.

Key players like Lufthansa Systems and Global Eagle Entertainment are taking important steps to moving the supply chain that takes content from the studio to the aircraft into another realm that will speed the process, make it more cost efficient and prepare it for future changes in screen resolution.

Amazon, one of the companies that is rewriting the book on logistics efficiency, is at the heart of the process.

Some of the processes of the future are already live with customers and other are being tested. By the time Lufthansa Flight 452 touches down in Los Angeles, some visitors to this year’s APEX Expo will probably get an update on Lufthansa Systems’ efforts to supply entertainment content from cloud computing. For the second year in a row, the company will hold its Flying Lab, departing from Munich that will feature lectures and presentations on the latest trends driving the passenger experience.

LH Systems in the cloud

Lufthansa Systems, along with partners castLabs, a cloud-based post-production facility, and Amazon Web Services are four years into a trial program looking at alternatives to the current supply chain for inflight entertainment.

Under the trial, Lufthansa Systems receives Mezzanine files (a compressed master video file used to produce additional compressed video streams and downloads) that they have sent directly to castLabs. Hundreds of files each month were stored in the cloud and transcoding was also done in the cloud. The files were then watermarked with Lufthansa Systems (for example, the LSY watermark), and the company adds at integration the airline watermark.

“By bifurcating that watermarking process we eliminated a significant number of submasters as well as the expense associated with that,” Childers says. Also during the trial, quality control was done in an automated process with the help of another company. This reduced the time and content integration which further drove down the cost Childers said traditional delivery costs for the process today could run in the hundreds or thousands of dollars.

By working in the cloud, costs were cut in most cases less than $100. Delivery time was also greatly reduced from the

aforementioned 45 to 60 days to 24 to 48 hours from receipt of the Mezzanine by castLabs to delivery to the integration facility, reducing delivery time by weeks.

One with the cloud

Global Eagle Entertainment’s digital content supply technology is known as Open™, and the platform is now live with three airline customers.

“Our Open™ platform optimizes the workflow for the cloud environment and tracks content from acquisition to delivery, collecting data which drives improved analytics,” states a description of the product in a recent report to shareholders. “The platform will enable new efficiencies and capabilities for 4K/ HD content, broader content selection and greater content customization.”

Through this year and next, Global Eagle will be transitioning the product for airline customers. One of the people involved heavily in the move toward Open™ is Chris Esposito, who has been with the company for two years and has a background in broadcasting. He is Global Eagle’s Chief Technology Officer.

“One of the biggest things we needed to get right is how do we move away from a manual, unintegrated supply chain to a fully global integrated supply chain,” says Esposito. The company is also seeking to increase the type and breadth of content and is working with research institutes and the data analytics that help the company decide what to license.

With the Open™ platform, airlines can log in and browse the company’s offering title by title. The company works with Amazon Web Services and other partners to run the Open™ platform airline can log into the Global Eagle selection of content.

Chris Esposito, Chief Technical Officer for Global Eagle Entertainment

www.pax-intl.com | PAX TECH | 29

IFEC

The race for inflight

Wi-Fi

European Aviation Network (EAN) inflight broadband – developed by Inmarsat, Deutsche Telekom and major European companies – is being offered by airlines to more than 30,000 passengers across Europe each day

World leaders in satellite communication are looking to provide airline passengers with the seamless connectivity they enjoy at home. Several important developments toward that end took place this summer.

S

by MARY JANE PITTILLA

ummer 2019 saw major announcements from Inmarsat, SmartSky Networks and ThinKom, as these operators gained new ground in the battle to provide inflight Wi-Fi to airlines on a global scale.

In July, it was revealed that European Aviation Network (EAN) inflight broadband – developed by Inmarsat, Deutsche Telekom and major European companies – would now be available to thousands of airline passengers.

What claims to be Europe’s fastest aviation connectivity solution can be accessed on more than 100 airline routes, offering passengers unmatched speeds and uninterrupted coverage throughout their flights, according to Inmarsat.

EAN is being offered by airlines to more than 30,000 passengers across the continent each day, allowing them to browse the Internet, stream videos, check social media and enjoy real-time interactive gaming during flights.

Currently under a soft launch phase with initial airline customers, the connectivity solution can be accessed on more than 100 routes from key destinations such as London, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome and Vienna. As of July 2019, approximately two million passengers have traveled on flights with access to EAN. Inmarsat has high hopes for the new service. Building upon European infrastructure, EAN is said to mark

30 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

a paradigm shift in the airline passenger experience for the continent, with incomparable speeds, uninterrupted coverage and significantly lower latency than any other inflight broadband network in the market.

Best-in-class connectivity

Philip Balaam, President of Aviation at Inmarsat, said: “EAN has established an unprecedented new benchmark for inflight broadband, not only in Europe but on a global basis. It combines the expertise of Europe’s most innovative companies to provide best-in-class connectivity unmatched by any other solution. We have been working with our initial airline customers to monitor and fine-tune the service during their soft launches before it’s rolled out on their wider fleets.

We are extremely pleased with the initial response from both the airlines and their passengers, which is testament to the important role EAN is already playing in the European aviation industry. This vision of a unique, pan-European high-speed inflight connectivity network is being deployed with advanced infrastructure in the skies and on the ground.”

Developed by Inmarsat and Deutsche Telekom in partnership with leading European companies such as Thales, Nokia, Airbus, Cobham and EAD Aerospace, EAN has

.com

IFEC been designed from scratch to meet the needs of European aviation. It seeks to deliver consistent inflight broadband across Europe’s congested airspace, which sees more than 1 billion passengers and 11 million flights per year.

For airline customers, EAN also offers installation time for a connectivity solution, in less than nine hours per aircraft. Combined with the system’s low weight, low drag and low maintenance, this results in lower operating costs.

A user experience similar to home

“

At the same time as inflight connectivity receives a significant boost with the EAN development, Honeywell and SmartSky Networks announced this summer that they would bring connectivity to North American airlines using advanced 5G technologies.

SmartSky Networks, which does not sell direct to airlines, works with partners and Value Added Resellers (VAR) who already have relationships with airlines. Honeywell is its first VAR on the commercial aviation side. The company is talking with others as well, according to Michael Miller, Vice President, Corporate Marketing & Communications.

The new agreement with SmartSky provides Honeywell customers with extensive inflight connectivity services.

The new air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity from SmartSky provides Honeywell customers with another option for Internet connectivity that delivers a user experience similar to that found at home. Honeywell is also a provider of Inmarsat’s GX Aviation via satellite, which is powered by Honeywell’s JetWave hardware.

Ryan Stone, President, SmartSky Networks, said: “Honeywell brings a world-class approach to the market and we are excited to partner with them, further diversifying the cost, speed and capacity of the broader range of services they support for airlines throughout North America. Honeywell’s leading portfolio of connectivity solutions will permit airlines to balance their capital investment with passenger needs.”

SmartSky’s ATG network leverages 5G technologies to provide a reliable, secure and affordable IFC solution for airlines that want full-functioning inflight connectivity for their regional aircraft.

John Peterson, Vice President and General Manager, Software and Services, Honeywell Connected Enterprise, Honeywell Aerospace, said: “Our agreement with SmartSky strengthens our expansive and diverse global connectivity solutions portfolio, including JetWave, and permits airlines to offer the best connectivity options to meet passenger needs.”

The SmartSky network aims to deliver a secure, low-

ThinKom’s Ka2517 aeronautical satcom antenna at Telesat’s Allan Park facility in Ontario, Canada

32 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

We are extremely pleased with the initial response from both the airlines and their passengers, which is testament to the important role EAN is already playing in the European aviation industry.”

– PHILIP BALAAM, PRESIDENT OF AVIATION AT INMARSAT

latency signal to every aircraft in the network, ensuring high performance regardless of network loading. Each beam communicates with just one aircraft at a time, compared with similar offerings that share beams among several aircraft. In the cabin, passengers will experience inflight connectivity similar to that of their ground-based office solutions, Honeywell said.

First live test of phased-array antenna

In other news announced in July, SmartSky Networks received its 130th patent supporting the development of its advanced air-to-ground (ATG) network.

SmartSky’s latest patent is part of an exclusive rights portfolio at the core of its ATG technology. SmartSky has several patent families covering network architecture and spectrum usage in North America and beyond which enable an ATG network to operate in harmony with terrestrial users of identical frequencies in the same geography.

Meanwhile, US-based ThinKom completed its first live test with the Telesat LEO 1 satellite. It was the satellite communication company’s first live test of a commercially available phased-array antenna with Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite. The test was performed using a production model of ThinKom’s Ka2517 aeronautical satcom antenna, designed for business aviation, commercial air transport and military applications.

The on-air tests were conducted from June 10 to 14 at Telesat’s Allan Park facility in Ontario, Canada, using the flight-proven ThinKom Ka2517 phased-array antenna and a Newtec MDM6000 modem.

Bill Milroy, ThinKom’s Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, said in a statement: “These on-air tests confirm that our unique phased-array antenna architecture provides the beam agility, switching speeds, low look-angles and high spectral efficiencies required to communicate over a LEO satellite network. We are now moving into the next phase of development and commercialization of an Enterprise User Terminal for Telesat’s global LEO satellite system.”

Milroy also added that ThinKom had conducted successful on-air demos with the Ka2517 across multiple GEO satellites and medium-earth orbit (MEO) constellations from fixed platforms as well as an aircraft inflight.

“These tests provide clear validation of our phased-array technology and products across the full range of GEO, MEO and LEO environments,” he added.

Stay in touch with &

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IN-SEAT POWER

Power at

hand The evolution from USB Type A to USB Type C on aircraft promises more wattage for users of larger electronics

Consumer demand (and anxiety) is dictating a future where power in the seat will be available to millions more passengers in one form or another – and it could become a revenue source

L

by RICK LUNDSTROM

ook at the scene around any crowded airport gate, and you’ll find that it is usually the same: you’ll see a substantial percentage of passengers huddled over electronic devices, seeking out the last few minutes of complimentary Internet time or data roaming to communicate and entertain themselves before boarding their flight. In this familiar scene, there is often a charging station nearby with USB sockets crammed with wires as passengers seek to power up their PEDs with enough juice to get them through the flight and on to their next stop.

In this ritual, astute airlines see an array of opportunities to build good will, or possibly turn a dollar or two. And companies that manufacture USB charging ports are more than willing to show them products that can potentially do both.

Like any other aspect of cabin service, in-seat power has a bright future in terms of sales. A report published in June by Valour Consultancy predicted the total number of in-service seats with in-seat power would increase from 38% in 2018 to 66% by 2028.

Other evolutions are taking place in the world of in-seat power. Companies are shifting the USB sockets from the lowerpowered USB Type A to higher wattage USB Type C products.

At the same time, they are working hand-in-hand with

34 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

suppliers on the possibility of turning power into a revenue source. Demand is driven in part by the fast-paced lifestyle of airline passengers and their need to be connected at all times.

“I think it is an expectation now, especially since ‘lowbattery anxiety’ is a very real phenomenon, exacerbated by passengers using PEDs and draining them of charge prior to even boarding,” says Craig Foster of Valour Consultancy, the company that worked on the report, which is available for purchase. “Passengers are used to carrying and using charging cables on other forms of transport and in airport lounges themselves, so it stands to reason that they expect the same amenity to be available when they fly.”

KID-Systeme and IFPL worked together to develop in-seat power for the Mirus Hawk Seat

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IN-SEAT POWER

One version of the SkyPower inseat power product from KID-System

And while there are possibilities for inflight power to generate its own revenue source, any airline that wants to make money selling connectivity or entertainment needs an aircraft full of passengers with devices that have at least enough charge to get them through the flight.

“Obviously, there are cost and implications with installing in-seat power, but I think there is an argument to suggest that this could be outweighed by a boost in passenger satisfaction and potentially ancillary revenues,” adds Foster.

He said he knows of one airline, the Singapore-based LCC Scoot, that has for several years opted to sell in-seat power.

Recently, discussions between airlines and suppliers have resulted in another solution that may be on the horizon, at the very least for low-cost carriers that derive a larger percentage of their sales through ancillary revenue. At IFPL’s stand at this year’s Airline Passenger Experience Association event in Los Angeles, visitors will see USB power ports that will serve as a platform for advertising to those passengers who choose to plug in at their seat.

IFPL has developed a product that flashes a short ad on a passenger’s device once they plug in. The company has worked with content providers like Spafax to develop the hybrid system, which is currently available for Android users and will soon be able accommodate Apple devices as well.

At the company’s APEX stand this year, Dave Phillips, Head of Business Development, and Mark Reed, Director of Business Development North America, will be showing visitors this product’s capability, which has been dubbed AdPower. The company has also developed a solution for supplying USB Type C power, which is fast becoming the standard. The company’s USB Type A and Type C rapid fit combination outlet will allow airlines to support the needs of all of their passengers.

Most of the world’s aircraft are currently equipped with USB Type A power sources that deliver relatively low-wattage power. Phillips says Type A power sources can generate approximately 10 watts while USB Type C can increase the power output to up to 60 watts. With this additional capacity, he sees a future wherein passengers can work on – and charge – a laptop computer while in use.

Astronics, one of the pioneers of in-seat power, will be 36 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

bringing prototypes of a fifth-generation EmPower® in-seat power supply to this year’s APEX event. The company has increased power output to accommodate the demand for 60-watt USB Type C and combined it into an outlet that provides 110 volts of AC power for laptop cords.

Astronics recently completed an installation of its first USB Type C charging system combined with AC power.

While the additional power is useful for larger devices, Dennis Markert, Director of Business Development, Cabin Electronics at Astronics, said the improved charging power places obvious demands on the aircraft’s power source.

“The majority of today’s smartphones do not require a full 60 watts to charge,” he points out. “Therefore, we are able to provide an upgrade path with lower power levels of the Type C power delivery by harmonizing the existing installed passenger power system and matching it to the appropriate Type C power level.” Thus, the company has developed Type C units that can provide power in increments of 15, 27, 45 and 60 watts.

Over the years, Astronics’ in-seat power products have been line fit or retrofitted on more than one million aircraft seats. The EmPower® product line includes models that combine AC and USB power as well as an UltraLite line that places up to 30 outlets throughout an aircraft. The company can also supply a wireless charging module or an in-seat solution that can be installed overnight.

Joining Astronics among the list of large players in the in-seat power realm An inseat -is KID-Systeme, which has more than version of the EmPower® 800,000 units in service around the world. system from Astronics For nearly 20 years, the company has produced the SKYpower® line of products.

At this year’s APEX event, the company will be showing visitors its plans and designs for a power solution that can accept payments. Whether the practice will be widely accepted by passengers is another matter, says Peter Schetschine, CEO of KID-Systeme.

“Charging passengers for power is not easy,” he says. While the process itself is easy to implement, he notes that the difficult part for an airline is deciding whether it is a risk it is willing to take.

However, supplying power to the seat seems to be on the mind of airlines, even the low-cost carriers. One example is KID-Systeme’s exclusive agreement with seat maker Mirus, which manufactures the Economy Class Hawk seat, designed for short-haul LCCs. In April of 2018, KID-Systeme signed an exclusive agreement with the UK seat maker and IFPL to create a single source for in-seat power that is installed in the armrest of the Hawk seat, a product that has been sold to AirAsia.

“The high-power USB socket itself and the In-Seat Power Supply unit minimize both weight and intrusion into the passenger space whilst providing [an] enhanced passenger experience,” said a release from KID-Systeme at the time of the partnership announcement.

David Thomas, Vice President of Business Development at IFPL stated in the same announcement: “The innovative and open approach of Mirus, KID-Systeme

CREATING GALLEY SPACE WHERE IT DOES NOT EXIST

Congratulations

The Mercury Award Flex-e-Bag Waste System One possible use of the wireless charging system from Astronics

and IFPL has enabled a step change in the integration of peripherals into the seat. This solution demonstrates that ergonomics and aesthetics do not have to be compromised to deliver a low-cost, low-weight integrated solution. In fact, it provides a significant enhancement to the passenger experience and competitive advantage to an airline.”

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The move to wireless

At the same time as suppliers move ahead with weightsaving solutions and products that deliver more charging power to the seat, the consumer market is becoming more and more comfortable in a world with fewer wires. At this year’s APEX event, all three companies interviewed for this story will be presenting wireless charging platforms that can be installed on any flat surface.

Astronics announced the launch of its wireless charger at the 2018 Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, just as airlines were starting to anticipate demand for the feature.

“As the consumer market adopts new technologies such as wireless charging and they become commonplace, airline passengers expect these technologies to be available to them while in flight,” says Dennis Markert, Director of Business Development, Cabin Electronics at Astronics.

While the term “wireless” may carry with it the image of cutting-edge technology, Valour Consultancy’s Craig Foster says the study conducted by his company found an airline industry seeing more widespread use.

“It also surprised me to learn that there is apparently airline interest in wireless charging in Economy Cabins,” he says.

“I’d previously assumed that the lack of real estate with which to play would make it a better fit for premium cabins.”

See you in 2020 at the WTCE. Stand no 3C45 Beside the Taste of Travel.

www.onboardlogistics.com www.pax-intl.com | PAX TECH | 37

INNOVATION AT STARTS WITH

Some companies start with a contract. We start with eye contact.

In a world of mega-mergers, a simple conversation isn’t always that simple anymore.

That’s why Astronics takes a down-to-earth approach that invites collaboration.

It’s a process that accelerates the innovation of technology systems that integrate seamlessly with your aircraft. Ready to work differently? Your seat is waiting.

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30,000 FEET A CONVERSATION AT 30 INCHES

ELEVATING innovation Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start the conversation. APEX Booth 1429

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ANCILLARY REVENUE

MONETIZING the passenger experience The billions that airlines earn each year through ancillary revenue has led to some ingenious ways to construct and maintain a steady flow of income through à la carte offerings

2

018 Top 10 Airline Ancillary Revenue Rankings shows the top-performing airline carriers’ frequent flyer and credit cards programs were the big producers of ancillary revenue, but a few onboard programs that enhanced passenger comfort and boarding efficiency were implemented in the past year.

The report, commisioned by CarTrawler and issued by IdeaWorksCompany, is compiled from several sources, including annual reports, investor presentations, financial press releases and quotes from senior airline executives. The group of 10 top performing airlines has become a “billionaires club” that represents ancillary revenue of US$35.2 billion, up from US$2.1 billion in 2007.

Frequent flyer loyalty programs represent 55% of total revenue for the top 10 airlines. Moreover, 90% of frequent flyer program revenue is generated by cobranded credit cards with banks (other sources include points sold to hotels, car hire and retail partners). Through a co-branded credit card, cardholders can collect miles or points through their everyday purchases. The points or miles are paid by the bank and deposited to the account of the cardholder. The report states, “This is commerce on a grand scale.” American Airlines’ Express SkyMiles cardholders’ spending came to a total of US$94.7 billion for 2018.

Not all airlines have loyalty programs for their passengers. Deeper into the report are ways carriers are generating additional revenues by offering passengers opportunities to upgrade their travel experience.

For example, Ryanair found its overhead bins would often reach capacity with the carry-on bags of the first 80

passengers. So the Dublin-based carrier initiated a policy where non-priority boarding passengers paid a fee of US$9 to check suitcases that weighted more than 10kg (22lbs). They were allowed to bring a personal bag free of charge. Passengers who paid for priority boarding got both bags boarded free of charge.

Along with baggage fees, fees that buy passengers quicker boarding and greater comfort are often top discretionary spends for the top 10 airlines. This year, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air both topped the US$50 per passenger mark, while other airlines that have laid out a vast array of offers large and small made up the rest of the category.

Allegiant earned 41.2% of its income with notable revenue activity for offering a discount for roundtrip itineraries, while Spirit came in at 44.9% with its dynamic pricing for seat and bag fees.

It was the first year for Hawaiian Airlines making the top ten. The airline adopted an Extra Comfort seating

program which allowed passengers to opt in to get a longer seat pitch, expedited screening at seven airports, early boarding and in-seat power. Select flights offer amenity kits and expanded the choice of entertainment. The program helped push Hawaiian’s per passenger spending to US$32.70 in 2018.

Other notable ancillary revenue programs that relate to passenger experience took shape in 2018. Those noted in the report are: • Wizz Air added fast track boarding and lounge access to functions of its mobile app.

• Volotea introduced a fee of €1.99 for inflight entertainment via its mobile app.

• AirAsia added meal selection from producers in ASEAN-based small and medium-sized vendors.

TOP 10 AIRLINES – Ancillary Revenue Per Passenger

TOP 10 AIRLINES – Ancillary Revenue as a Percent of Total Revenue

Airline Spirit

Revenue per PAX US$50.94

The full report is available for download at IdeaWorksCompany.com

Airline Viva Aerobus

Percent of Revenue 47.6%

Allegiant

50.01

Spirit

44.9

Frontier

47.62

Frontier*

42.8

Jet2.com

43.91

Allegiant

41.2

Qantas

41.15

Wizz Air

41.1

United

36.64

Volotea

34.8

American

35.56

Volaris

32.3

Virgin Australia

34.74

Ryanair

31.7

AirAsia X

34.28

Jet2.com

31.1

Hawaiian

32.70

AirAsia Group

29.0

*IdeaWorksCompany estimate based upon past disclosure and updated for current report

40 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

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EVENTS

Looking to LA The team at Reed Exhibitions provided PAX with a peek at what the 2019 edition of their AIX North America show holds

Cabin interiors will be on full display on the AIX show floor, as seen here at AeroAid’s 2019 booth at AIX in Hamburg

A

recent report published by MarketsandMarkets™ shows the aircraft cabin interiors industry is projected to grow from US$27.0 billion in 2018 to US$40.2 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.87% from 2018 to 2025. Global passenger traffic – which is expected to increase by 5% year-onyear – has resulted in a higher number of new aircraft orders, as well as a move to invest and upgrade existing aircraft fleets, as airlines place a greater focus on enhancing the passenger experience.

It is against this backdrop of significant investment that Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas lands at the Los Angeles Convention Center from September 10 to 12. The show offers a line-up of leading exhibitors, an impressive program of CabinSpace Live seminar sessions and an exciting new buyer program called AIX Connect. AIX Connect is a free initiative for representatives from companies including OEMs, airlines and tier 1 suppliers designed to help key airline buyers meet relevant exhibitors and build long-lasting business connections. Visitors can also meet with a range of exhibitors showcasing the future trends and products to transform cabin interiors and the passenger

42 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

experience, from air conditioning and sound-proofing equipment to new seating configurations and materials.

Exciting exhibitors

Several suppliers will use the event to launch new products at the show, including Aviointeriors, which plans to reveal its Adagio high-density Business Class seat for both wide- and narrow-body aircraft. The Italian company will also showcase its artist-inspired ranges, including the Canova business class, Caravaggio Premium Economy and Michelangelo Economy seats – the latter of which has been designed to improve the experience on long-haul flights. Other companies in the seating spectrum that will be present include TSI Aviation Seats, Boltaron Inc. and Optimares.

ELeather will highlight its engineered leather made by an innovative process that transforms unused leather into advanced materials to achieve a smaller environmental footprint.

Euro-Composites will demonstrate its floor panels for use in aisles, entrances/ exits, galleys, cargo bays and under seats, whilst Schneller will reveal its newest, lightweight reinforced decorative laminate called AerTrim sofTouch®.

Polly Magraw, Event Director for AIX

Mifa Aluminium will also be exhibiting, showcasing their fully finished precision products with dimensional tolerances from ± 0.0008, giving designers increased freedom without the restrictions of standard specifications.

With the worldwide market for aircraft galley equipment expected to grow to US$810 million by 2024, according to Market Research Gazette, exhibitors at AIX LA will showcase the latest innovations and products in galley equipment including first-class lavatory housing from Euro Composites and Diehl Aviation’s Air Refrigeration Unit (ARU), InnoLite Toilet Assembly and a Space Optimized Lavatory.

Live learning opportunities

CabinSpace Live Seminar Theatre will also return to the event this fall, offering visitors a carefully curated – and free – program of seminars to learn more about the trends and challenges shaping the aviation sector from the

THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY’S GLOBAL MEETING PLACE IN THE FALL

Aircraft Interiors Expo is your fast track connection for the world’s aircraft interiors industry.

Through our industry networks and global reach, we create business opportunities, providing you with quality contacts, content and communities.

Join us in LA to network, reconnect and source the latest innovations.

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NEXT STOP: LA

10 -12

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SEPTEMBER 2019

EVENTS industry’s leading passenger experience experts. Presentations will offer insights into the latest seating trends and innovations, scientific research, material innovations and technologies that will optimize passengers’ sense of wellbeing during their flight.

Highlights include a panel discussion on the outlook for aircraft interiors that will kickstart the show on its first day.

Gary Weissel, Managing Officer at Tronos Aviation Consulting, will join James Blackwell, Director of Sales at RECARO Aircraft Seating, and Tim Garvin, Sales at Pexco Aerospace, to debate the critical forces impacting the market supply chain in the coming year and the challenges airlines and their industry partners face implementing interiors specification programs. Also looking ahead to the future, Helge Sachs, Senior Vice President of Product Innovation at Diehl Aviation, will discuss ways to innovate seamless user experiences for passengers and crew, share insight into the company’s customer-centric innovation strategy and some of the initiatives that will create tomorrow’s intelligent cabin.

Addressing cabin comfort, James Blackwell will be joined by Elijah Dobrusin, Vice President of Development and Strategy at EnCore; Tom Lipscomb, Senior Project Manager at PriestmanGoode; and James Barrett, Vice President of Aerofoam Industries,

CabinSpace Live, a popular facet of AIX’s annual event, returns this year

in a talk titled “Are you sitting comfortably?” that will investigate the latest seating trends and innovations that will differentiate the passenger experience and deliver a more competitive cabin for airlines. Addressing the challenges and opportunities of innovating for comfort, Matthew Nicholls, Sales Director at Tapis Corporation, will offer insights into the latest comfort science research, materials innovations and technologies that will enhance a passenger’s sense of wellbeing.

Two additional sessions will consider passenger wellbeing and discuss the opportunities and issues that need to be addressed to improve accessibility and passenger experience for all. Jennifer Coutts Clay will lead a keynote session on the topic of creating an accessible cabin, joined by Hank Scott, Chief Executive Officer, Molon Labe Seating; Tom Lipscomb of PriestmanGoode; Michele Erin, Founder and President of All Wheels Up; and Gina Emrich, Senior Manager of Customer Accessibility at American Airlines. Bob Nelson, Engineering at Humbay, will lead a seminar on innovating health and wellbeing on board in which he will explore inflight humidity options and the health and wellbeing issues for passengers and crew, along with the integration and innovation for aerospace design.

In “Integrating cabin innovations onto aircraft,” Doug Christensen,

Technical Lead for Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ ecoDemonstrator program, will reveal how the initiative takes new products and innovative solutions out of the lab and onto a dedicated test aircraft. He will share insights on how this approach helps address the challenges of implementing innovation and explore the learning benefits for engineers and designers, plus the collaborative opportunities it presents.

Finally, Matthew Nicholls will return to present a keynote session on making sense of Premium Economy cabins in which he will explore the choices customers in this cabin make on the ground, as well as how the interiors supply chain can help meet their expectations in the cabin, plus the Premium Economy trends to watch in the Americas market.

Registration now open

The AIX LA event is co-located with APEX EXPO and IFSA EXPO. Attendees can experience the full spectrum of aircraft interiors products and passenger services in one location and bringing together more than 3,500 qualified industry professionals.

Event Director Polly Magraw commented ahead of the show: “AIX LA may be the little sister to the Hamburg show in spring, but it’s where business connections are made, and that’s why we’re so excited to launch the brand-new AIX Connect program this year. We are looking forward to welcoming worldclass companies both as exhibitors and visitors to this year’s show, ready to meet, inspire and find pragmatic solutions to current challenges facing the industry.

This, alongside a fantastic CabinSpace Live program including some of the industry’s leading experts, makes it very clear that this year’s edition of AIX LA is the only place for aircraft interior professionals to be this September.”

For more information and to register to attend AIX LA, visit www.aircraftinteriorsexpo-us.com/registration.

Exhibitors will once again be on hand to provide insider insights on the floor of AIX Los Angeles

44 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

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FACTS & FIGURES

Heading to La-La Land Sunny California is welcoming the biggest names in the onboard amenities, catering, comfort, interiors and IFE categories this September, and international visitors have a lot to be dazzled by

1835

48.3

Year Los Angeles was officially deemed a city, becoming the capital of Mexican California

MILLION Number of tourists who visit Los Angeles each year

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO First film that was completed in Hollywood, in 1908

655.8 miles Length of the Pacific Coast Highway, which runs along California’s shoreline, making it the longest route in the state

4,800 YEARS Age of a bristlecone pine tree in California, thought to be the oldest in North America

October 1,

1978

Fiftieth anniversary of LAX, which opened in 1928 as Los Angeles Municipal Airport

50 feet

Height of the famous Hollywood sign, which originally read “Hollywoodland” 46 | PAX TECH | SEPTEMBER 2019

4 million

Approximate population of Los Angeles (the city, not the county) as of 2018. Compare that to 1830, when only 750 people called it home

$21,000 Cost of the Hollywood sign at the time it was built

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Our company is known for forward-looking technologies and visionary thinking. But what are we really proud of? That our customers can always rely on us and the outstanding quality of our products and services.

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